PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team hits the road this weekend, traveling to UW-Platteville to take part in the two-day UW-Platteville Invitational.




The Cardinals' Matchups:
Friday, Oct. 5, 2012 | Platteville, Wis.
SMU Cardinals (8-7 Overall) vs. Coe Kohawks (14-6 Overall), 6 p.m.
SMU Cardinals vs. UW-Platteville Pioneers (12-7 Overall), 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012 | Platteville, Wis.
SMU Cardinals vs. UW-La Crosse Eagles (11-8 Overall), 10 a.m.
SMU Cardinals vs. U. of Dubuque Spartans (10-11 Overall), Noon

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Last Action:
The Cardinals saw their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record dip to 3-3 Wednesday, as SMU dropped a 3-0 decision at St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn. … Coe made quick work of Loras on Wednesday, cruising to a 3-0 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. … UW-Platteville and UW-La Crosse were also involved in a 3-0 decision Wednesday, as the Pioneers fell to the host Eagles in three sets in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match in La Crosse, Wis. … The University of Dubuque needed four sets to pick up its IIAC victory Wednesday, as the Spartans traveled to Decorah, Iowa, to beat Luther 3-1.

SMU vs. Coe — Their Last Meeting:
October 1, 2011: SMU coach Mike Lester must have felt like he stepped into a time machine when he walked off the court following the Cardinals' final match. Flashback one week — Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, Ripon, Wis.: The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-1 lead, but couldn't hold off high-powered Coe, as the Kohawks rattled off back to back victories to beat SMU 3-2. Fast-forward to the University of Dubuque River City Classic: The Cardinals once again jumped out to a 2-1 lead against the Kohawks in their final match of the two-day tournament — and fortunately for Lester, history didn't repeat itself, as SMU won the fourth set 23-18 to clinch the 3-1 victory in Dubuque, Iowa.

SMU vs. UW-Platteville — Their Last Meeting:
October 29, 2005: It was an old-and-new kind of tournament for SMU at the UW-Whitewater Invitational. On the "old" side, was a rematches with the University of Dubuque and Simpson. While on the "new" side, was a shot at fifth-ranked UW-Whitewater and a second-day matchup against UW-Platteville. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, old or new didn't make one bit of difference, as UW-Whitewater and the University of Dubuque both handed SMU 3-0 setbacks, while Simpson and UW-Platteville came away with 3-1 wins over the Cardinals.

SMU vs. UW-La Crosse — Their Last Meeting:
September 5, 2012: SMU won the opening set in all three of its wins at the 2012 Ground Round Sugar Loaf Classic. In their lone loss — a 3-1 setback to Nebraska Wesleyan — the Cardinals were on the short end of a 25-18 Set 1 setback. The Cardinals opened their midweek nonconference match against UW-La Crosse with a 25-22 win. UW-La Crosse, however, had other ideas, as the Eagles swept the next three sets — 25-19, 25-19, 25-22 — to beat the Cardinals 3-1 in La Crosse, Wis.

SMU vs. University of Dubuque — Their Last Meeting:
September 30, 2011: SMU and the University of Dubuque split their first set sets at the River City Classic, with the Cardinals opening with a 25-22 win, only to have the Spartans answer with a 25-23 win in Set. 2. It was all Saint Mary's after that, however, as the Cardinals won the third set 25-18, before closing out the Spartans with a 25-23 win in the fourth set for the 3-1 victory in Dubuque, Iowa.

Cardinals Up Next:
The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. match against Bethel.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
This weekend's four matches at the UW-Platteville Invitational are four of a stretch of 12 straight road matches for the Cardinals, who do not return home until Oct. 19, when they host nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. match at the SMU Gym. … SMU's 3-2 win over Concordia last Saturday snapped the Cardinals' two-match losing streak. … Each of SMU's last two wins have been 3-2 decisions — the Cardinals also knocked off St. Catherine in five sets on Sept. 19. … Carissa Hahn (Hutchinson, Minn.) recorded a team- and match-high 11 kills in SMU's 3-0 loss at St. Olaf Wednesday. … Lexi Assimos (Northbrook, Ill.) finished with 26 assists vs. St. Olaf and was one of three Cardinals with 10 digs against the Oles. Lex Krogstad (Chicago, Ill.) and Cathy Rennie (Pine Island, Minn.) were the other two. … Megan Leisen (Kellogg, Minn.) recorded a career-high 14 kills in SMU's 3-2 win over Concordia last Saturday. … Hahn set a career high with 23 digs against Concordia last Saturday. … Mary Nordick (Plymouth, Minn.) enters this weekend's tournament with a team-leading 135 kills, while Hahn is second with 106. … Assimos, who dished out a season-high 45 assists against Concordia — marking the second time this season the junior setter has eclipsed the 40-assists mark — owns a team-best 470 assists for the season and 1,720 for her three-year career. … Assimos equaled her career high with eight kills vs. St. Catherine on Sept. 19. … Krogstad is the team-leader with 249 digs. She is one of four Cardinals with 100 or more digs this season — Hahn (165), Rennie (152) and Assimos (114) are the other three. … SMU has recorded 70 services aces this season, led by Rennie with 17 and Assismos with 13. … Four of the Cardinals' eight wins have been 3-0 sweeps. … SMU has won the first set in all eight of its victories this season. … The Cardinals' 2-0 start to the conference season marked the first time since 2008 that they opened MIAC play with back-to-back wins.

Scouting The Coe Kohawks:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
The Kohawks enter this weekend red-hot, having won their last nine straight. … Seven of Coe's nine wins during their current streak have been 3-0 sweeps. … Wednesday's win over Loras was the Kohawks' 13th consecutive regular-season conference win. … Coe has not lost on its home court this season, going a perfect 4-0. … Coe comes into tournament play with 895 kills, led by Rachel Schaefer with 240. … Schaefer is one of four Kohawks who have amassed 100 or more kills through 20 matches — Rachel Bosworth (148), Tiffany Frey (141) and Megan Barron (136) are the other three. … Along with her team-leading 240 kills, Schaefer also leads the team with 27 service aces, five more than Emily Ryan. … Ryan has accumulated 697 of the team's 792 assists this season. … Alissa Wittenburg has collected a team-leading 335 digs, while Olivia Glaudel (158), Ryan (150) and Mackenzie Harbaugh (145) have also notched 10 or more digs this season. … Ten of Coe's 14 wins have been 3-0 sweeps, while all six of the Kohawks' losses have been by 3-1 decisions. … The Kohawks have played one match that has gone the maximum five sets, beating Luther 3-2 on Sept. 12.

Scouting The UW-Platteville Pioneers:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Wednesday's loss to UW-La Crosse snapped the Pioneers' two-match winning streak. … Only once this season have the Pioneers one — or lost — more than two games in a row. UW-Platteville owns winning streaks of five, three and two (twice), and losing streaks of two and three matches. … All seven of the Pioneers' losses have come away from home — UW-Platteville is a perfect 5-0 on its home court. … Danielle Cushley and Stephanie Kirchner have led the Pioneers' offensive attack, combining for nearly half of the team's 869 kills. Cushley owns a team-best 211 kills, one more than Kirchner. Add Samantha Rampart (155) and LeeAnn Mizgalski (152), and the quartet has recorded 728 of those 869 kills. … Cushley also leads the team with 18 services aces. … Katie O'Malley is the team's assist leader (577) and Haley Jansen has posted a team-best 267 digs. … Six of UW-Platteville's 12 wins have been 3-0 sweeps. … The Pioneers have played five five-set matches, going 3-2.

Scouting The UW-La Crosse Eagles:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
After dropping their first four matches to open the season, the Eagles have gone 11-4 in their last 15 contests — a run that includes their current three-match winning streak. … UW-La Crosse is 7-2 in its last nine matches. … The Eagles boast five players with 100 or more kills, led by Leah Putzier with 163. Crystal Ziegler (137), Brianna Jacobson (120), Lauren Probst (109) and Kayla Ashland (107) are the other four. … Chantel York and Cassie Raduka have shared the setting detail, with York dishing out 401 assists, while Raduka owns 239 assists. … Probst is the team-leader in aces with 22, three more than Jacobson. … Katie Kaufman is the Eagles' dig leader with 270, and Ashland owns a team-high 46 blocks. … UW-L has gone 5-3 in three-set matches, 5-4 in four-setters, and 1-1 in matches that have been decided in five sets. … The Eagles have played just four of their 19 matches at home, where UW-L is 3-1.

Scouting The University of Dubuque Spartans:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
The Spartans' 3-1 win over Luther Wednesday snapped their three-match losing streak. … When the Spartans square off against Saint Mary's, it will be the fifth time UD has faced a team from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this season. UD beat Macalester twice (3-2 and 3-1), while losing to both Hamline (3-0) and Carleton (3-0). The Spartans face St. Catherine in one of their two tournament matches Friday. … Klaudia Basierak owns a team-high 292 kills, while Susan Danielewski (167) and Amy Tranel (142) have also eclipsed the 100-kill mark through the Spartans' first 19 matches. … Meggie Schmidt is the team-leader in assists, accounting for 646 of UD's 729 assists. … The Spartans have recorded a whopping 154 service aces, led by Schmidt (35) and Basierak (31). … Schmidt and Basierak also enter tournament play as the Spartans' dig leaders with 249 and 244, respectively. Caitlin Simbeck (190), Danielewski (143) and Nicole Toro (165) also own more than 100 digs this season. … Nine of the Spartans' 11 losses have been 3-0 sweeps. … UD is 1-9 in three-set matches, but the Spartans are a perfect 4-0 in matches that go five sets.